Leading a school and owning a school are two completely different things
For some school owners I guess handing over the running of their baby to a trained and experienced professional is a difficult thing to do, similar to when a child gets a box of toffees for his birthday and then has to share them with his brothers and sisters. It’s the whole, ‘but it’s mine’ syndrome that pervades in both situations.
To be fair, a school owner is the one that is taking the risk financially and to some extent professionally by investing so heavily in a school but then on the other hand, the rewards of doing so are enormous and this is where the difference between school owners and school leaders differ – the definition of success.
To a school leader, the definition of success is not only attainment levels and the progress of students, it is the ‘feel factor’ of the school and what that engenders. It is how the children feel when they walk in to the classroom in the morning, how much parents feel they are a valued part of the school and how the staff feel about working there.
A good school leader knows that a great school is one in which the positive values and the spirit of shared responsibility and quality can be felt the moment you walk through the door. It pervades from every school book, policy and person in there. This doesn’t mean that everything is perfect, but what it does mean is that the character and heart of the school will overcome boundaries due to an overwhelming sense of school pride.
To a school owner, the definition of success is more monetary a lot of the time. For their schools to be deemed a success they will operate convincingly on a low outlay / high return model that enables continuous expansion and development of the school name. School owners like this prefer to satisfy parents that their children are experiencing good quality education because they pass their exams, (ironically enough written by the school and delivered and marked by the teachers who are judged against the amounts of passes and fails they get), not how much their children enjoy attending or how much pride they have about their school and what it represents.
This doesn’t mean however that it is always like this. Harmony can exist but I have only seen this happen when there is a mutual respect for both elements of expertise – education and business. When that combination of respect, skill, commitment and investment are present then enthusiasm is born and shared enthusiasm is the only realistic way to achieve success in any private education venture. When it is there it is obvious, but not quite so obvious when it isn’t and once again I note that another new school venture in Bahrain is starting to feel the strain and hasn’t learnt from the successes and failures of others before it.